Met Office issues yellow thunderstorm warnings for England and Wales

The Met Office has issued yellow thunderstorm warnings for large parts of England and Wales, with the first alert coming into force at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, and remaining in effect until 10 p.m. that evening. The warnings cover a broad swathe of the country, including the South West, the Midlands, the North West, the South East, the East of England, London, and Wales, with forecasters warning of heavy rain, frequent lightning, large hail, and a risk of surface water flooding.

The unsettled weather is attributed to warmer and more humid air moving north across the UK. Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway said that while many areas will see dry and increasingly warm conditions at the start of the week, attention is turning to the potential for heavy rain and thunderstorms from Wednesday onwards. He noted that some places could see 20 to 30 millimeters of rain in just a few hours, with the potential for higher totals where thunderstorms repeatedly affect the same locations. The detail of which areas will see the heaviest rainfall remains uncertain, and the public is advised to stay updated with the forecast.

The primary warning for Wednesday covers...